SENATE, No. 1962

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED MARCH 24, 1997

By Senators BASSANO and SINGER

An Act concerning certificate of need application fees and amending P.L.1971, c.136.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. Section 10 of P.L.1971, c. 136 (C.26:2H-10) is amended to read as follows:

    10. a. Application for a certificate of need shall be made to the department, and shall be in such form and contain such information as the department may prescribe. The department shall charge a nonreturnable fee for the filing of an application for a certificate of need. [The] Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, the minimum fee for the filing of an application shall be $5,000. For a project whose total cost is greater than $1 million [but less than $10 million], the fee shall be $5,000 plus .05% of the total project cost, [and for a project whose total cost is $10 million or more, the fee shall be $5,000 plus 1.0% of the total project cost,] except that, the maximum fee for the filing of an application shall be $100,000. Upon receipt of an application, copies thereof shall be referred by the department to the appropriate local advisory board and the State Health Planning Board for review.

    These appropriate boards shall provide adequate mechanisms for full consideration of each application submitted to them and for developing recommendations thereon. Such recommendations, whether favorable or unfavorable, shall be forwarded to the commissioner within 90 days of the date of referral of the application. A copy of the recommendations made shall be forwarded to the applicant.

    Recommendations concerning certificates of need shall be governed and based upon the principles and considerations set forth in section 8 of P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-8).

    No member, officer or employee of any planning body shall be subject to civil action in any court as the result of any act done or failure to act, or of any statement made or opinion given, while discharging his duties under this act as such member, officer, or employee, provided he acted in good faith with reasonable care and upon proper cause.

    b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section to the contrary, in the case of an application for a certificate of need that is subject to the expedited review process pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:33-5.1 et seq., the fee shall be $1,250 or 25% of any higher minimum application fee for a certificate of need that may be established after the effective date of this act.

(cf: P.L.1991, c.187, s.36)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill reduces application fees for a certificate of need in two areas. First, the provisions of this bill change the fee structure so that the add-on percentage for projects costing $10 million or more would be the same as for projects costing $1 million but less than $10 million, that is, .05% of the total project cost. The maximum fee for all projects would remain at $100,000.

    Under current law, N.J.S.A. 26:2H-10, if a project costs $10 million or more, the application fee is calculated at $5,000 plus 1.0% of the total project, with the maximum fee set at $100,000. Thus, application fees for projects valued at $10 million end up costing $100,000. However, the application fee for a project whose cost is greater than $1 million but less than $10 million, is $5,000 plus .05% of the total project cost.

    It is expected that by changing the fee structure in this manner, an applicant with a worthwhile project who cannot afford to spend $100,000 on the possibility that it would be able to obtain a certificate of need would still be able to apply for a certificate of need. Prior to the 1991 amendments to N.J.S.A. 26:2H-10, the application fee for a certificate of need could not exceed $1,000.

    Second, in the case of applications for a certificate of need for projects requiring an expedited review by the Department of Health and Senior Services, this bill establishes a fee of $1,250 or 25% of any higher minimum fee which may be established in the future (currently $5,000). These applications receive less intensive review by the department and are not reviewed by the State Health Planning Board or local advisory boards. Thus, the personnel, time and financial resources devoted to reviewing these applications are substantially reduced, and this reduction is reflected in the lower fee.

Reduces certain certificate of need application fees.